Three trucks carrying 131 tons of rice entered Bangladesh from India through the Hili land port on Monday, following the government’s lifting of import duties on rice recently.
This marks the first rice consignment in the last 20 months after the government’s decision to remove the import duty.
Md Mostafizur Rahman, a Hili land port-based importer, said the government lifted the duty on October 31 to stabilize rice prices and boost domestic stock.
Following this decision, importers quickly submitted the necessary documents to relevant ministries for rice import approval from India.
To date, five importers have received permission to bring in 33,000 tons of rice under letters of credit (LC) valued between $420 and $430 per ton.
According to Mostafizur, the import cost per kg is approximately Tk53-54.
Lalit Keshra, owner of M/S Sairam International, said rice imports have commenced in alignment with government policy to help stabilize local prices.
Md Yusuf Ali, deputy assistant officer at the Plant Quarantine Centre of Hili Land Port, said rice imports had been suspended since March 30 last year, when the government imposed a 62% import duty to discourage imports.